Buyer’s agent in Darwin

It is a prime time for Darwin real estate with the market performing strongly in comparison to other capital cities. Buyers Agent Guide provides listings and reviews to help you find a buyer’s agent in Darwin and make the best property purchase.

BAG is a free resource for home buyers and real estate investors to research property market info for Darwin, get property buying tips and find a property expert in your area.

An independent advisor can take the guesswork out of buying a property and protect you from overpaying in the popular Darwin real estate market. Agents also save buyers time and stress in finding the right home and provide peach of mind regarding your investment decision.

Darwin largely confounds the real estate industry with its constantly escalating prices. Despite its remote location, the city has the second highest median house price and highest residential rents in Australia.

The Darwin property market is buoyed by the combined effect of both the resources and defence sectors. The city’s economic indicators have continued to perform well with employment rates, population growth and economic growth returning strong figures.

That being said, there are signs that the market may pull back in the short to medium term.

Using the services of an independent buyer’s agent in Darwin will protect against the risk of over paying for your property and maximise the chance of strong capital growth.

As a result of the resource-driven economic improvement seen in Darwin over 2012, the property market followed a positive upwards trend throughout the year. Figures released by the ABS (data as of November 2012) indicated that seasonally adjusted owner-occupied financing increased by a dramatic 18% during the first 11 months of 2012 compared to the prior corresponding period. This buyer activity is expected to continue throughout 2013 in response to increasing rental returns and accommodation shortages brought on by the economic uplift.

For the three months to February 2013 Darwin’s median house price was the second highest of the capital cities at $587,000, outperforming the capital city benchmark by over $100,000. Conversely the median unit price tracked close to the benchmark at $410,000, underperforming the capital city average by $5,000 (see figure 1).

Figure 1 – Median house and unit prices (3 months to February 2013)

Darwin’s gross rental yields (data as of February 2013) were the strongest of the capital cities with the gross rental yield of houses sitting at 6.2%. This was 0.9% higher than Hobart, which was the next highest performer. Darwin’s units outdid second placed Brisbane by 0.7% with rental yields of 6.3%.

Alongside Perth, Darwin has been the standout city for capital gains over the past 10 years with growth of 10.1% compared to the average annual benchmark rate of capital cities at 4.9%. In the past year Darwin was also the strongest performer. Property values grew at 5.9%, which was over 4 times that of the capital city benchmark of 1.3% (see figure 2). This was primarily driven by house values, which grew by 6.3%. Unit values were slightly slower, although still stand out performers on the national stage, with growth of 4.2% over the year.

Figure 2 – Annual change in capital city property values

Property sales in 2012 saw Darwin close to the 5 year rolling average, being only 0.8% lower. With 2,935 property sales, volumes were up by 21.8% on 2011 and sales were 11% higher over the second half of 2012 compared to the first six months of the year. This indicates strengthening demand.

Figure 3 – Decline in property values from their peak (to February 2013)

Figure 4 – Average annual change in property values (past 5 years to February 2013)